Laminated tie plate

ABSTRACT

A tie plate includes an outer casing having a first wall extending upward from a peripheral edge defining the hole, a rubber casing received inside the outer casing by extending into the hole of the outer casing and having a second wall extending from a peripheral edge defining the recess to be engaged with an inner face of the first wall and a mediate plate securely received inside the recess of the rubber casing and sandwiched between the rubber casing and the outer casing. Enclosure of the inner face of the first wall of the outer casing to the outer periphery of the second wall limits relative movement between the rubber casing and the outer casing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a tie plate, and more particularly to a laminated plate.

2. Description of the Prior Art

A tie plate is a device under the rails to position the rails in position on top of a tie. Therefore, when a train is on top of the rails, the ties arc able to support the weight o the train and to reduce noise caused by the whirling train.

A conventional tie plate, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, includes a top plate (50), a bottom plate (54) and a rubber layer (53).

The top plate (50) has a pair of positioning ears (51) on a top face thereof and a pair of cutouts (52) defined in diagonal corners of the top plate (50). The bottom plate (54) is provided under the top plate (50) and includes a pair of through holes (55) respectively corresponding to the cutouts (52) of the top plate (50). The rubber layer (53) is sandwiched between the top plate (50) and the bottom plate (54) and respectively engages with the top plate (50) and the bottom plate (54).

In the existing process of making the conventional tie plate, the rubber layer (53) is superposed on top of the bottom plate (54) and then the top plate (50) is superposed on top of the rubber layer (53). After components of the tie plate are stacked on top of each other, the combination of the tie plate is sent for hardening by addition of sulfur.

After the tie plate is completed, the tie plate is fixed on top of a tie via fasteners extending through the two through holes (55). Then the rail is positioned between the two positioning ears (51) via clamps such as Pandrol® clamp. One side of the Pandrol® clamp is securely connected to one of the two positioning ears (51) and the other side of the Pandrol® clamp is securely connected to a bottom side face of the rail such that the rail is securely fastened on top of the tie plate.

However, after a period of time using the tie plate, due to constant exposure to sun and late night temperature, the tie plate becomes hardened and components of the tie plate become easily detached from one another. As a result, not only the tie plate can not provide the support and cushion effect to the train, but also the train is easily derailed should the components of the tie plate become detached to one another.

To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention tends to provide an improved tie plate to mitigate the aforementioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a laminated tie plate having restricting designs to prevent components of the tie plate from detachment with one another.

In order to accomplish the aforementioned objective, the tie plate of the present invention includes an outer casing, a rubber casing received inside the outer casing and a mediate plate sandwiched between the outer casing and the rubber casing. The outer casing has a centrally defined hole, a substantially conical first wall extending from a periphery defining the hole and teeth formed on a top face of the outer casing. The rubber casing has a centrally defined recess communicating with the hole of the outer casing and a substantially conical second wall extending from a periphery defining the recess. The conical second wall has a dimension configured in such a way that an outer periphery of the conical second wall is securely engaged with an inner periphery of the conical first wall after the rubber casing is extended into the hole of the outer casing. The mediate plate has a top face with a first area and a bottom face with a second area larger than that of the first area. The mediate plate further has a pair of positioning ears formed on the top face and an inclined face formed on the top face of the mediate plate. Further, a bottom face of the rubber casing is provided with bosses formed thereon. Therefore, when fasteners are extended through the outer casing to fix the tie plate of the present invention on top of a tie, engagement between the fasteners and the teeth prevents the fasteners from loosening. In addition, the bosses on the bottom face of the rubber casing increase friction between the tie plate and the tie.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the tie plate of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the rubber casing of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a partially cross sectional view showing the structure of the combined tie plate of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic side plan view showing the application of the tie plate of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a partially cross sectional view showing the structure of the second embodiment of the structure of the tie plate of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view showing the third embodiment of the outer casing of the present invention;

FIG. 6A is a cross sectional view of the outer casing taken by line 6A-6A in FIG. 6;

FIG. 6B is a cross sectional view of the outer casing taken by line 6B-6B in FIG. 6;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of a conventional tie plate; and

FIG. 8 is a schematically cross sectional view of the conventional tie plate.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, it is noted that the tie plate in accordance with the present invention includes an outer casing (10), a rubber casing (30) received inside the outer casing (10) and a mediate plate (20) sandwiched between the outer casing (10) and the rubber casing (30).

The outer casing (10) has a centrally defined hole (11), a substantially conical first wall (12) extending from a periphery defining the hole (11), through holes (13) defined in corners of the outer casing (10) and teeth (14) formed on a top face of the outer casing (10) and adjacent to each of the through holes (13).

The rubber casing (30) has a centrally defined recess (31) corresponding to and communicating with the hole (11) of the outer casing (10) and a substantially conical second wall (32) extending from a periphery defining the recess (31). A bottom face of the rubber casing (30) is provided with multiple bosses (33) formed thereon. The conical second wall (32) has a dimension configured in such a way that an outer periphery of the conical second wall (32) is able to securely engage with an inner periphery of the conical first wall (12) of the outer casing (10) after the rubber casing (30) is extended into the hole (11) of the outer casing (10).

The mediate plate (20) has a top face with a first area and a bottom face with a second area larger than that of the first area. The mediate plate (20) further has a pair of positioning ears (21) formed on the top face thereof and an inclined face (22) formed on the top face of the mediate plate (20).

With reference to FIG. 3 especially, it is noted that when the tie plate of the present invention is assembled, the mediate plate (20) is extended into the hole (11) of the outer casing (10) to allow the outer periphery to securely engage with the inner face of the conical first wall (12) of the outer casing (10). Then the rubber casing (30) is also extended into the hole (11) of the outer casing (10) to allow the conical second wall (32) to securely engage with the inner face of the conical first wall (12). Thereafter, sulfur is added to secure the engagement among the outer casing (10), the mediate plate (20) and the rubber casing (30).

With reference to FIG. 4, after the combination of the tie plate of the present invention is completed, the tie plate is placed on a solid seat, such as a tie (43). Fasteners (40), i.e. threaded bolts or the like, are employed to extend through the through holes (13) of the outer casing (10) and into the tie (43) to secure the tie plate of the present invention on top of the tie (43). Due to the provision of the teeth (14) on top of the outer casing (10), friction is provided between the fasteners (40) and the outer casing (10) so that the fasteners (40) are kept engaged with the outer casing (10). Also, the provision of the bosses (33) at the bottom of the rubber casing (30) increase friction between the tie plate of the present invention and the tie (43) so that the rubber casing (43) is not movable relative to the tie (43).

It is appreciated that an I shaped rail (41) is placed on top of the inclined face (22) of the mediate plate (20) to allow the rail (41) to be inclined relative to the ground and between the two positioning ears (21). Then a Pandrol® clamp (42) is applied to respectively engage with one of the positioning ears (21) and a side of the rail (41) to fix the rail (41) between the two positioning ears (21).

Thereafter, when a train is riding on top of the rail (41), the rubber casing (30) is able to provide the necessary cushion and shock absorbing effect to smoothen the movement of the train on top of the rail (41).

Because the conical first wall (12) encloses the periphery of the mediate plate (20) and the conical second wall (32) and the fasteners (40) secures the tie plate of the present invention to the tie (43), the overall structure of the tie plate of the present invention is kept complete such that accident of the train caused by damaged tie plate is avoided.

With reference to FIG. 5, it is noted that in this embodiment of the present invention, the inner face of the conical first wall (12A) of the outer casing (10A) is arcuate and the outer periphery of the rubber casing (30A) is also arcuate such that the engagement between the outer casing (10A) and the rubber casing (30A) is even secured.

With reference to FIGS. 6, 6A and 6B, in this embodiment, it is noted that the conical first wall (12B of the outer casing (10B) has one pair of mutually inclined sides and one pair of vertical extending sides. The pair of mutually inclined sides is tilted toward the hole (11B), which can still accomplish the objective of enclosing the mediate plate (20) and the rubber casing (30) as disclosed in the first embodiment of the present invention.

Therefore, it is noted that the first wall (12) of the outer casing (10) is able to enclose and maintain the mediate plate (20) and the rubber casing (30) inside the hole (11) of the outer casing (10) so that the integrity of the tie plate of the present invention is maintained during the entire life span of the tie plate.

It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the fall extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed. 

1. A tie plate comprising: an outer casing engageable with a tie and having a centrally defined hole, a first wall extending upward from a peripheral edge defining the hole; a rubber casing received inside the outer casing by extending into the hole of the outer casing, the rubber casing having a recess in communication with the hole of the outer casing and a second wall extending from a peripheral edge defining the recess, the second wall being configured in such a manner that an outer periphery of the second wall securely engages with an inner face of the first wall; and a mediate plate securely received inside the recess of the rubber casing and sandwiched between the rubber casing and the outer casing, the mediate plate having a top face with a first area and a bottom with a second area larger than that of the first area so that after the mediate plate is received in the recess of the rubber casing, an outer periphery of the mediate plate engages with an inner face of the second wall to secure engagement between the mediate plate and the rubber casing and enclosure of the inner face of the first wall of the outer casing to the outer periphery of the second wall limits relative movement between the rubber casing and the outer casing.
 2. The tie plate as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outer casing has through holes defined therethrough for extension of fasteners into a tie so as to secure the outer casing to the tie.
 3. The tie plate as claimed in claim 2, wherein teeth is formed on the outer casing such that after the fasteners are extended through the through holes, engagement of the fasteners with the teeth increases friction of the fasteners with the outer casing to prevent the fasteners from loosening.
 4. The tie plate as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outer casing has through holes defined therethrough for extension of fasteners into a tie so as to secure the outer casing to the tie and bosses are formed on a bottom face of the rubber casing such that friction between the rubber casing and the tie is increased.
 5. The tie plate as claimed in claim 2, wherein bosses are formed on a bottom face of the rubber casing such that friction between the rubber casing and the tie is increased.
 6. The tie plate as claimed in claim 3, wherein bosses are formed on a bottom face of the rubber casing such that friction between the rubber casing and the tie is increased.
 7. The tie plate as claimed in claim 1, wherein an inner face of the first wall is arcuate and an outer periphery of the rubber casing is arcuate such that when the rubber casing is extended into the hole of the outer casing, engagement between the outer periphery of the second wall of the rubber casing and the inner face of the first wall of the outer casing is secured.
 8. The tie plate as claimed in claim 2, wherein an inner face of the first wall is arcuate and an outer periphery of the rubber casing is arcuate such that when the rubber casing is extended into the hole of the outer casing, engagement between the outer periphery of the second wall of the rubber casing and the inner face of the first wall of the outer casing is secured.
 9. The tie plate as claimed in claim 3, wherein an inner face of the first wall is arcuate and an outer periphery of the rubber casing is arcuate such that when the rubber casing is extended into the hole of the outer casing, engagement between the outer periphery of the second wall of the rubber casing and the inner face of the first wall of the outer casing is secured.
 10. The tie plate as claimed in claim 4, wherein an inner face of the first wall is arcuate and an outer periphery of the rubber casing is arcuate such that when the rubber casing is extended into the hole of the outer casing, engagement between the outer periphery of the second wall of the rubber casing and the inner face of the first wall of the outer casing is secured.
 11. The tie plate as claimed in claim 5, wherein an inner face of the first wall is arcuate and an outer periphery of the rubber casing is arcuate such that when the rubber casing is extended into the hole of the outer casing, engagement between the outer periphery of the second wall of the rubber casing and the inner face of the first wall of the outer casing is secured.
 12. The tie plate as claimed in claim 6, wherein an inner face of the first wall is arcuate and an outer periphery of the rubber casing is arcuate such that when the rubber casing is extended into the hole of the outer casing, engagement between the outer periphery of the second wall of the rubber casing and the inner face of the first wall of the outer casing is secured.
 13. The tie plate as claimed in claim 3, wherein the mediate plate has a pair of positioning ears and a inclined face located between the two positioning ears.
 14. The tie plate as claimed in claim 6, wherein the mediate plate has a pair of positioning ears and a inclined face located between the two positioning ears.
 15. The tie plate as claimed in claim 9, wherein the mediate plate has a pair of positioning ears and a inclined face located between the two positioning ears.
 16. The tie plate as claimed in claim 13, wherein the first wall is conical and the second wall is conical.
 17. The tie plate as claimed in claim 14, wherein the first wall is conical and the second wall is conical.
 18. The tie plate as claimed in claim 15, wherein the first wall is conical and the second wall is conical.
 19. The tie plate as claimed in claim 14, wherein the first wall of the outer casing consists of a pair of mutually inclined sides and a pair of vertical sides, the pair of mutually inclined sides is tilted toward the hole of the outer casing.
 20. The tic plate as claimed in claim 15, wherein the first wall of the outer casing consists of a pair of mutually inclined sides and a pair of vertical sides, the pair of mutually inclined sides is tilted toward the hole of the outer casing. 